Halloween is the perfect excuse to bring something a little spooky to the table. If you’re looking for Halloween board games beyond the usual horror favourites, plenty of hidden gems offer haunted attractions, ghosts, creepy candy, and even a slasher in the woods. Whether you’re planning a Halloween game night with friends or looking for something spooky to play with the family, here are five lesser-known board games worth discovering.

1. Scream Park: Build the Ultimate Haunted Attraction

What if, instead of escaping a haunted house, you were the one building it?

In Scream Park, you’re preparing a haunted attraction for opening weekend, competing to create an experience that will impress visitors and VIPs. Players draft cards to build scenes and improve them with costumes, special effects, decorations, and other creepy additions. The challenge is making everything work together to create the best possible haunt.

With its Halloween setting and 25–35 minute playtime, Scream Park is an easy pick for groups who want the spooky-season atmosphere without diving into something genuinely terrifying. It plays 1–5 players and is currently available for pre-order at 401 Games.

2. Dreadful Meadows: Halloween Has Never Tasted So Sweet

Not every Halloween game needs monsters and murder. Sometimes candy can be creepy enough.

Dreadful Meadows puts 1–4 players in the role of confectioners competing to become the season’s sweetest supplier. You’ll plant patches, harvest ingredients, and create candy combinations while figuring out how to make the most of your increasingly unusual meadow.

The colourful artwork gives the game a playful mix of sweet and spooky, making it a great choice if you want Halloween vibes without the horror. Games take around 30–60 minutes, so it also fits nicely into a game night with several titles on the table.

3. Above and Below: Haunted

Moving somewhere new usually comes with a few surprises. Unfortunately, this village comes with ghosts.

Above and Below: Haunted is a standalone sequel to Above and Below that sends players to build a new village among lakes, caves, sinkholes, and underground waterways. There’s just one complication: the area is haunted. As you build above ground and explore below, ghosts become another part of the strange world you’ll have to navigate.

Designed for 2–4 players with a playtime of around 60–120 minutes, this is the pick for groups who want something more strategic while still keeping a supernatural theme at the centre of their Halloween game night.

4. Last Friday: Survive the Weekend

Summer camp. An isolated forest. A mysterious killer. You can probably guess where this is going.

Last Friday: Revised Edition takes inspiration from classic slasher movies and turns them into a hidden-movement survival game for 2–6 players. One player can take the role of the Maniac, hiding and moving secretly through Camp Apache while the campers try to survive.

The game unfolds across four chapters, and the objective changes as the story progresses. Sometimes the campers are being hunted; at other points, the roles can shift and the hunter becomes the hunted. If your Halloween game night calls for actual horror rather than friendly ghosts, this is the one.

5. Spooky Stairs: Halloween Fun for the Whole Family

For younger players, Halloween can still be spooky without being scary.

In Spooky Stairs, 2–4 players race their pawns up an old staircase, hoping to reach the ghost at the top first. But whenever a ghost appears on the die, one of the pawns gets covered by a ghost piece. Eventually, everyone may look exactly the same, and players have to remember which ghost is actually theirs.

With a playtime of only 10–15 minutes and a recommended age of 4+, it’s a simple memory game that gives families a way to bring Halloween to the table without the scares.

Which Spooky Game Is Right for You?

The right game really depends on what kind of Halloween night you have in mind. If you want to fully embrace the season, Scream Park lets you build your own haunted attraction, while Dreadful Meadows offers a lighter mix of candy, colourful artwork, and just enough creepiness for those who prefer the playful side of Halloween. For something with a little more strategy, Above and Below: Haunted combines village building and exploration with a supernatural twist.

If your group would rather lean into actual horror, Last Friday brings the tension of a classic slasher movie to the table with hidden movement, a mysterious killer, and a fight for survival. On the other hand, families with younger players can still join the spooky fun with Spooky Stairs, a quick and accessible game that keeps things ghostly without being too scary.

Whichever one fits your group, Halloween is a great excuse to move beyond the usual favourites and discover something new. Pick a game, gather around the table, and give one of these lesser-known spooky titles a chance this Halloween.

-Cindy